On Monday, Indian equity benchmarks experienced a notable decline, with the Sensex dropping 479 points (0.63%) to close near 76,010 and the Nifty 50 falling 0.49% to settle at 23,914. Renewed geopolitical tensions in West Asia, particularly following reports of US military operations in southern Iran, heightened investor risk aversion and led to a sell-off in financial and heavyweight stocks. The Nifty Financial Services index decreased by 0.65%, while the Nifty Bank index fell 0.36%, with major private banks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank among the top losers. Conversely, midcap stocks showed resilience, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Midcap 50 indices rising 0.54% and 0.51%, respectively. The Nifty Metal index emerged as a strong performer, gaining 1.10% due to robust global metal prices. Market participants are now closely watching developments in the West Asia conflict and fluctuations in crude oil prices, which could significantly impact India's inflation and macroeconomic stability.